Social Studies
by Lolo84
Summary: It was a silly social experiment for her Psych class. Bella never thought it would amount to more. "Hey—what numbers did you get assigned?" She looked down at her paper. "Umm ... five and nine." Leaning over, her and her best friend examined what that meant. "Oh, well sit down with a total stranger and ask someone for a hug. Shouldn't be too bad, right?" Humor/Romance/Friendship
1. Intro

**This is my entry for the Feb. Drabble Wars! But, you know how it is-none of that "war" business... it's all just for fun! :-) If you're not familiar with the drabble wars, and how they work, they have an FB Group: Drabble War Forum you can check out, as well as a Blogspot. But basically, you get a full drabble from us over the course of the weekend! SO, yeah-expect a lot of alerts but you're used to that from me over the past week or so, now, huh? ;-)**

**Anyway!**

**Here are the ladies that are participating ... please do check out their fabulousity!**

**Also, a part of my first chap (and a bonus teaser) is at the bottom!**

* * *

***krazi4twisaga** *

Story Title: Honey, I'm Home!

Rated: M/NC-17

Fandom and Pairing: Twilight- Edward and Bella

Summary: Sequel to "Half on a Baby" - Follow best friends Edward and Bella as they plan a wedding and welcome their first child into the world. Life's full of all kinds of hiccups and bumps in the road, will they survive them all? Let's follow Edward as he goes from being a resident to a first year fellow, and Bella as she tackles stay-home motherhood, and her first shot at writing her own novel.

* * *

***ADADancer***

Story Title: Once Upon Another Escape (Sequel to Swan Escape)

Rated: M

Fandom and Pairing: Twilight- Edward and Bella

Summary: Work in Progress

* * *

***Loopylou992***

Story Title: Heavy In Your Arms

Rated: M

Fandom and Pairing: Twilight- Bella & Edward

Summary: Edward leaves Bella in the woods after breaking her heart.  
But what happens to him, does he really leave? Unexpected visitors change things for him drastically.

* * *

***whitewolflegend***

Story Title: Matters of Heart

Rated: M

Fandom and Pairing: Sherlock Holmes (movie) Holmes/Watson

Summary: silence leads to pain but denial leads to so much worse. When you see the one you love dying inside right before your eyes, what will you do? Continue to keep your secrets or let them know they are not alone?

* * *

**"Social Studies"  
Lolo84**

**Summary: **It was a silly social experiment for her Psych class . . . Bella never thought it would amount to more. "Hey—what numbers did you get assigned?" She looked down at her paper. "Umm . . . five and nine." Leaning over, her and her best friend examined what that meant. "Oh, well sit down with a total stranger and ask someone for a hug. That shouldn't be too bad, right?"

***1***

**BPOV**

"Bells, does this outfit make me look fat?"

I didn't bother looking up at my best friend/step-sister, she knew the drill. So with a snicker, I answered, "Nope—but it makes you look like a whore."

"Hey!"

Shrugging, I set my bottle of blue nail polish down on the floor next to me, then wiggled my toes in an attempt to dry them. "What? If you have to ask, it means it's too short or low-cut." When I looked up, my theory was confirmed. Super short orange dress, heels that had her tipping forward, blonde hair teased to oblivion. "Yup—whore."

"You don't have many more clothes on than I do, you know."

"True." I nodded, looking down at my equally short blue dress. "However, I'm single—therefore, if I want to go out looking like a prostitute tonight, I can."

"So can I—I can dress however I want."

"Not how it works, Baby Doll." I clucked my tongue. "You're a taken woman, now. Therefore, you can only be Billy's whore." When I saw her open her mouth, I threw my hand up before she could argue. "And please, let's not bother going back and forth about this, T. I really wanna have a good time tonight, and I won't be able to do that if you two are fighting."

.

.

.

***Teaser***

I strolled around, observing the area, when I noticed a guy walking directly in my line of sight.

His head was down and in a book that was brought almost all the way to his face. I could see a mess of hair, and the top of glasses but nothing else. Just that by the state of his dress—he seemed to be around my age.

"Hey." I stepped into his path. His head snapped up, and I noticed, even behind his frames, his eyes widening. I smiled at him. "Can I have a hug?"

"W-what?"

My friendly smile curved into a smirk. I could immediately tell he was nervous—intimidated even. "A hug," I purred. I guess coming onto him made more sense than me being a random girl walking around asking for hugs. "Can I have one?"

His forehead creased as the skin between his eyebrows pinched together. "You want—want to hug me?" His eyes narrowed."Why?"

'My professor hates me' didn't sound right. "You're cute and I want a hug." It was actually true.

"You . . . I'm—you think I'm cute?"

Adorable was more like it, as I took a better look at him. Green eyes, brown hair with red highlights—whether they were natural or not was still up for the jury to decide—pouty lips, defined jaw with a little scar on his chin. A good half foot or so taller than my 5'5".

"Umm . . ." he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and frowned. "Who—" he gulped "—who put you up to this?"

"Huh?"

He huffed as his shoulders sagged. "Pretty girls don't just walk up and ask me for a hug. Are you . . . did you lose a bet or something?"

I frowned as my face fell and my heart broke. "Come here," I whispered, taking a step forward and wrapping my arms around his waist.

* * *

**So, I'll start posting this tomorrow sometime, and hit the complete button Sunday! No angst, just fun sweet fluff, that might cause some cavities! So Nerdward and some of the citrusy stuff *wink* and a quick read.**

******Are you in?**

**********I'll post this on TWCS in clusters for every few chaps I post here! Blog when complete!**

**********Mina made me an amazing banner ... check it out in the Drabble Group, or mine :-) Fics on the Lolo(84)**


	2. Chapter 1

**Alright, official posting starts now! So here's the full first chap.**

**Gotta thank my ladies who help keep me sane: Kim, Bridgette, Sheri! No words.**

**And of course our DW admins for holding things down, ya know! Mina, Ana Fluttersby, Micaela Helene!**

**Please don't forget to check out the other drabblers: Loupy Lou, whitewolflegend, ****krazi4twisaga, and ADADancer :-) **

******Now, let's do the damn thing! **

* * *

***1***

"Bells, does this outfit make me look fat?"

I didn't bother looking up at my best friend/step-sister, she knew the drill. So with a snicker, I answered, "Nope—but it makes you look like a whore."

"Hey!"

Shrugging, I set my bottle of blue nail polish down on the floor next to me, then wiggled my toes in an attempt to dry them. "What? If you have to ask, it means it's too short or low-cut." When I looked up, my theory was confirmed. Super short orange dress, heels that had her tipping forward, blonde hair teased to oblivion. "Yup—whore."

"You don't have many more clothes on than I do, you know."

"True." I nodded, looking down at my equally short blue dress. "However, I'm single—therefore, if I want to go out looking like a prostitute tonight, I can."

"So can I—I can dress however I want."

"Not how it works, Baby Doll." I clucked my tongue. "You're a taken woman, now. Therefore, you can only be Billy's whore."When I saw her open her mouth, I threw my hand up before she could argue. "And please, let's not bother going back and forth about this, T. I really wanna have a good time tonight, and I won't be able to do that if you two are fighting."

'Cause the last three times we've gone to the club, it's ended with us getting kicked out because some guy admired her outfit a little too much for her boyfriend's liking.

"Fine," she huffed, stomping out of my room as I attempted to slowly slide my feet into my sandals. I really should have put the shoes on first.

"Classy not trashy!" I called out with another snicker. "Show him he can take you home to his mom."

"She died when he was little."

Oh. "Well, his dad!"

"They don't even talk!"

Well, fuck.

"Brother?"

She got quiet for a second, telling me to hold on a sec.

"How 'bout this?" She did a little twirl, showcasing another short dress, but one that actually covered her ass cheeks.

"I approve, and so will Buffalo Bill."

"Bella."

"What?" I smiled and batted my eyelashes, as her blue eyes narrowed at my light brown ones.

"Don't call him that—well, at least not to his face."

"Well . . . tell him not to call me 'Blue Balls Bella' then."

"Stop being such a cock-tease to all his friends, and he might."

* * *

**Tanya's harmless. Almost all mine are. No worries. :-)**


	3. Chapter 2

***2***

I slept through my alarm clock the next morning and managed to ignore the sun as it glared in my face.

But Tanya's retching in the bathroom was more than I could take.

"You better be fucking dying in there with how loud you're being."

"Fuck you, Bella," I heard her grumble. "It's your fault I'm this drunk."

"Of course," I mused. "Because I had a gun in my clutch, whipped it out and held it to your head, saying—Tanya Dwyer, you will get piss poor drunk tonight and embarrass the living shit out of me. I remember now."

Her response was more spewing as she tried to rid herself of the alcohol and horrendous decisions she made last night.

I spent so much time worrying about how Billy would react to her outfit, I didn't take the time to even consider the utter mayhem that would happen should he flirt, dance, or talk to another girl. Really—their relationship was not something I tried to understand. It was best that way.

But when we got to 'Chrome', a small nightclub in downtown Seattle, the first thing we saw, was Billy getting a hug from his ex-girlfriend. The second thing we saw, was her trying to shove her tongue down his throat. Without even seeing us, he pushed her away, letting me—the sane one—see her advances were unwelcomed. However, his girlfriend, my dear sister, saw things differently.

She went batshit.

On him.

In her heels and short dress.

While we were still outside the club—with everyone watching.

Embarrassing.

Thankfully, one of our classmates and close friends, was the bouncer last night and he brought us inside instead of calling the cops.

What followed were back to back shots of vodka for me, and Patron for Tanya. I couldn't keep up and after a few, switched to water. Her, not so much.

So while I'm only partially hungover—she's in the middle of swearing off alcohol for the rest of her life.

"When you're done lying to yourself—I'm gonna need you to take a shower. We got class in like an hour, and eau de vomit isn't really your scent."


	4. Chapter 3

***3***

When we walked into class—well I walked, while Tanya practically had her entire body weight leaning against me—my eyebrows knitted together when I noticed our Professor sitting on the floor in front of his desk, rather than in a chair.

His legs were crisscrossed underneath him, his hands tented in front of his nose with a faraway look in his eyes.

I looked over at Tanya and cupped my hands in the air, throwing my head back. "Looks like someone else might have been hitting the juice last night, too."

She snickered then groaned, rubbing at her temples. "Don't make me laugh."

Settling into our seats, we noticed the other students were just as confused looking at Professor Aro.

"You think he lost it?"

I looked over at my friend Emmett and smiled. "Maybe—was he at the club last night?" He was young as far as professors went, so he wouldn't be the first one we've run into before.

"Not that I know of." Emmett shook his head. "But I bailed right after I got you two in a cab."

"Thanks for that, by the way."

He waved me off, telling me not to mention it before facing forward to address our teacher. "You alright, Prof? Why are you sitting on the floor?"

He tilted his head to the side, as if Emmett was speaking a foreign language. "Is there something the matter with my sitting on the floor?"

"No. Just . . . I mean, should the rest of us be sitting on the floor, too or something?"

Professor Aro didn't answer. With his head tilted to the side, he stared, unblinking, at Emmett for an unmeasured amount of time. "Okay, now you're just being creepy."

"Actually," he finally smiled. "What I'm being is someone who's committed a 'social norm violation'.Two, in fact."

Murmurs were heard around the room as students started to wonder what the hell this nutbag was talking about.

"I can't believe I got off the bathroom floor for this."

I glanced over at Tanya and gave her a somewhat sympathetic look. She looked like she was getting ready to keel over. "Just lay your head on the desk, sweetie. I'll let you know when it's over."

She nodded, dropping her head down with more force than intended, causing a few chuckles to escape me as I saw her grimace.

"I want all of you to get out a piece of paper and a pen." Our professor called to the class."On them, I want you to write habits that come to mind when you think of 'socially awkward' or 'unacceptable'. And from the list compiled, I'll be handing out your project assignments."


	5. Chapter 4

**So glad ya'll are enjoying this so far! :-) You'll be able to give Edward hugs soon! Lol**

* * *

***4***

"What ever happened to the days where all you had to do was dress like you were insane and see how people reacted?" Tanya grumbled as we walked to our apartment.

It wasn't even a full ten minute walk from campus, but with her dragging ass the way she was—it was taking us much longer than necessary.

"We did that in high school." I shrugged. "I guess it's evolved in three years."

In my mind, our Professor crossed the line from creative to certifiably insane a long time ago. But with this new 'project' he had a lot of people whining about how 'super embarrassing' their tasks were going to be. I rolled my eyes at them and didn't bother looking at mine before leaving the classroom. I had no say either way, so I saw no sense in complaining.

Once we compiled our list—which amounted to about thirty or so items—we were then assigned two numbers for tasks we were to complete by next class.

"What's yours?" I looked over at Tanya as she linked her arms with mine.

"Hold on." She pulled the crumpled piece of paper out of her pocket, then hummed. "Number three and seven."

"Let's see." I stopped our slow walking to pull the list out of my folder. "Number three is . . . fall down on purpose."

"Of course it is."

"And number seven is—tell someone they smell good." I giggled.

"Because that's not weird at all."

With a laugh, I looped our arms back together to continue walking.

"Hey—" she yanked on my arm "—what numbers did you get assigned?"

Oh. I looked down at my folder. "Umm . . . five and nine." We both leaned over to examine what that meant.

"Oh, well sit down with a total stranger and ask someone for a hug. That shouldn't be too bad, right?

Yeah—had it not been for the _stranger _part.

* * *

**I'll be making a page on the blog of all the assignments, so you get a more detailed explanation of what they entail. But there isn't 30, though. ;-)**


	6. Chapter 5

***5***

With a couple of our classmates, it was quickly decided we would all act out our tasks as soon as humanly possible. Not only did we want to get the humiliation—of ourselves and an unsuspecting bystander—out of the way, but we also had a paper to write that accompanied this asinine assignment.

Rubbing his hands together, Emmett pointed to a sporting goods kiosk and let us know he was going to complete his task in one go. His two were to sit on the floor—like our professor did—and the other was to act like a sports fanatic in the mall.

So his plan was to sit in front of the kiosk, and if anyone asked him if he was okay—he would then jump up, shouting at the top of his lungs that he loved the Huskies.

"Have fun." Tanya waved at him. "I'm just gonna—" and without warning, she threw herself to the ground.

I stood there stunned, momentarily forgetting this was part of her assignment. Several people's steps faltered, but not one person bothered to stop and ask her if she was okay.

"Well, that was rude," she chuckled, standing up and dusting herself off. "I wonder if no one stopped 'cause you were standing right next to me?"

I frowned. "I hope that was it—what if something was really wrong?"

"Guess that's part of the assignment." She shrugged. "I'm gonna go to the other side of the mall since these people already saw me."

"And do what?"

"Fall again and see what happens." She popped a kiss on my cheek. "Now, go sit with a random stranger."


	7. Chapter 6

***6***

I walked around for at least half an hour, chickening out every time I saw someone sitting on a lone bench here and there.

I don't know why I was stalling on this. Emmett and Tanya's were far more embarrassing than mine, combined. But I think with mine involving direct contact with someone, who wasn't going to know what hit them, had me a little more apprehensive.

Deciding the food court would be less pressure, I made my way over there.

My assumption was there would be quite a few people there, with it being a Friday, therefore making my intruding on someone's table less awkward—but it was pretty empty.

I strolled around for a while, observing the area, when I noticed a guy walking directly in my line of sight.

His head was down and in a book that was brought almost all the way to his face. I could see a mess of hair, and the top of glasses but nothing else. Just that by the state of his dress—he seemed to be around my age.

"Hey." I stepped into his path. His head snapped up, and I noticed, even behind his frames, his eyes widening. I smiled at him. "Can I have a hug?"

"W-what?"

My friendly smile curved into a smirk. I could immediately tell he was nervous—intimidated even. "A hug," I purred. I guess coming onto him made more sense than me being a random girl walking around asking for hugs. "Can I have one?"

His forehead creased as the skin between his eyebrows pinched together. "You want—want to hug me?" His eyes narrowed."Why?"

'My professor hates me' didn't sound right. "You're cute and I want a hug." It was actually true.

"You . . . I'm—you think I'm cute?"

Adorable was more like it, as I took a better look at him. Green eyes, brown hair with red highlights—whether they were natural or not was still up for the jury to decide—pouty lips, defined jaw with a little scar on his chin. A good half foot or so taller than my 5'5".

"Umm . . ." he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and frowned. "Who—" he gulped "—who put you up to this?"

"Huh?"

He huffed as his shoulders sagged. "Pretty girls don't just walk up and ask me for a hug. Are you . . . did you lose a bet or something?"

I frowned as my face fell and my heart broke. "Come here," I whispered, taking a step forward and wrapping my arms around his waist. My cheek rested against his chest, right over his heart. It was beating erratically. He stiffened for a second before bringing an arm around me to cage me in one of the warmest, tightest hugs I've ever been a part of.

I have no idea what I was supposed to be learning from this, but damn if I had any intention of letting him go.

* * *

**Hugs are awesome!**


	8. Chapter 7

***7***

After a few minutes—that's what it felt like anyway—I started squirming away from his tight hold.

"Can't. Breathe."

"Oh—my goodness, I'm . . . I apologize." He dropped his arms. I frowned, already missing them around me.

"That's okay." I looked back up at him, smiling softly when I saw his face was beet red. "Thank you for the hug."

We shuffled sideways a few times—him going left, as I went right like we were playing a game of football—before I stopped and giggled.

I faced him again and felt compelled, for some reason, to introduce myself and stuck my hand out. "I'm Bella by the way."

"Oh." He dropped his head, tentatively taking my hands. "I-I know."

It was my turn to have widened eyes.

"I mean . . . I don't know you—like know you, know you," he stammered. "But I've seen you—around. Like . . . at school, in class. You were in my class, freshman year."

Well, that explains why I don't recognize him—freshman year was a blur. I didn't want to lie to him and say I remembered, but also didn't want to hurt his feelings by telling him I had no idea who he was.

"What's your major?"

"Arts and crafts. I mean . . ." he groaned, and squeezed his eyes shut for a minute. "Digital Arts and Experimental Media."

I smiled with pride for him. "That's a pretty competitive program, I've heard."

"Not really." He shrugged like it was no big deal, but I knew better.

"You must be pretty smart . . ."

"Edward."

"Edward." I hummed and nodded. "Does anyone call you Ed or Eddie?"

His brows furrowed. "Not really, but you can—if you want. Call me either one, that is."

I'm no fortune teller, but visions of me whimpering 'Edward' over and over filled my mind, causing what I assumed was a creepy smile to form on my face.

"Well then, _Edward,_ it's so nice to meet you."

* * *

**I'm no fortune teller, either- but . . . *wink***


	9. Chapter 8

***8***

"Who was that cute nerdy looking guy you were talking to earlier?" I frowned at Tanya's assessment of Edward as we walked to our car. "What?"

"I don't think I like you calling him nerdy."

"I didn't mean it to be harsh," she whispered. "I was just asking. Plus—did you miss the cute part?" She waggled one eyebrow. "He was definitely adorkable. I'd do him."

"Yeah." I grinned. "He was a cutie pie."_And he's mine,_ I added in my head.

"Who is he?"

"Apparently he goes to UDub, but I've never seen him before." I shrugged. "He was my hug. Anyway, how did the falling down go?" I was clearly eager to change the subject.

"More people stopped than I thought they would. One guy almost called 911, 'til I had to explain I was okay and it was for a project. Then they all just got mad."

I laughed at that. "Well, at least they stopped. Did you tell anyone they smelled good?"

"No. Did you get to sit with anyone?"

"Nah. I'm keeping harassing strangers to a one person a day maximum."

"I feel you on that one," she giggled as we climbed into her Camry. "We should come back tomorrow before work. I need a new outfit for the party anyway."

"Tomorrow." I smiled, wondering if Edward would happen to be around again.

Stranger things have happened after all.

But . . . "Wait. What party?"


	10. Chapter 9

***9***

"Oh, come on," Tanya whined when the bell on the door of the diner chimed. "Where are all these people coming from? Spring Quarter just started like two weeks ago."

I rolled my eyes at her lazy ass. We were both waitresses at a diner near campus. Really it wasn't just a diner, it was more of a diner/coffee shop/bookstore/a place where a lot of people from school came to mooch off the free Wi-Fi.

We tended to be the busiest on weeknights, because we stayed open pretty late. And of course, when finals were near, but never mid-April. Definitely not on a Saturday either.

I loved it, though. Not the feeling of being overwhelmed with patrons, but the fact they tipped fairly well.

"I know we just paid rent this month," I teased. "So you might not feel the need to work. But we gotta pay it next month, too. So . . ."

She smacked my arm and chuckled before turning her attention to the window that looked into the kitchen. "Tyler," she called out. "You better be working on Table four's burgers and not getting sucked off back there, or I swear to God I'm gonna jam one of your wooden spoons up your ass."

"Nice, T." I looked around at the people who were in earshot and able to hear her clearly.

"What?" She batted her eyelashes in mock innocence. "Do you not agree?"

She had a point. Tyler was much older than us and could cook a mean . . . anything. He was cool, and we felt comfortable talking to him like he was one of our peers. He was also a whore and easily distracted.

"Carry on."

After sending a few more threats Tyler's way, he resurfaced to cook the food our tables needed. And working alongside each other for the next few hours, Tanya, myself and the other girls were able to get everyone fed, happy and out of our faces.

"Can you girls stay another hour or so?" Sue, our manager, approached us just as Tanya and I were getting ready to clock out. "I guess the library was having some issues this morning so everyone's scattering around to study elsewhere, which is why we're slammed."

I shrugged out a 'sure', while Tanya grumbled a little. Resulting in my elbow making contact with her sides.

"Okay, fine. But we're leaving at five. No exceptions."

When five o'clock rolled around, I couldn't agree more. I hadn't mentally prepared my body for the extra hour and it was shutting down on me.

"I think I'm gonna pass on the mall," I told Tanya as I was making my way to the back. "Or else I won't have the energy for any partying."

"I think you might wanna stick around for a few minutes."

My head shook slowly in confusion. "Why?"

"Because—" her smile got wide, and creepy as fuck "—a certain adorkable stranger just sat down at one of my tables."


	11. Chapter 10

***10***

"So . . . you gonna walk over there and talk to him or just stand watching him from behind this wall?"

"Shhh." I looked at her over my shoulder, then bent back down a little, using the wall as a blocking device. "I'm planning my strategy."

"What strategy?"

I shrugged. I had no idea what I was talking about. "What I'm gonna say, I guess."

"Start with 'hi' and go on from there until you reach 'do you want top or bottom'."

"Can you tamp down the whorey advice please?"

"Sweetums." Tanya placed a hand on my shoulder. "How do I put this nicely? I can't. You've been off the sex for almost six months now—"

"—Seven." I almost shuddered at the memory of the heinous night of my twenty-first birthday. Not all birthday sex, is good sex. Especially with an ex who just didn't get the concept of a woman's body.

"Even worse. And you obviously got a lady boner for the cute little bastard. Just go for it. Nerves or whatever haven't ever stopped you before."

"You know what . . ." Straightening up my spine, I nodded and took a moment to get my nerves in check. "You're right." Approaching a guy had never been an issue before this moment—taking rejection was something I learned to do in stride— so I wasn't sure what had me momentarily nervous about Edward.

So with resolve, I sauntered over to his table, and cleared my throat. "Hi, Edward."

His head snapped up from perusing the flimsy, cheap menu that was really just a piece of paper. Then with wide eyes, he scrambled from his seat. "Bella, hello."

My smile was wide in response to him saying my name. Silly, because just the day before he admitted to already knowing it, but still. "Are you expecting anyone?" He tilted his head to the side, showing he didn't understand the point of my question. So I waved a hand to his table. "For lunch—dinner, are you expecting company?"

"Oh." He frowned. "No . . . it's—it's just me. My friend, he said this place was nice and cheap and so . . . yeah."

"Well then." I winked. "Would you like company?"

"Really?"

"Really."

"That—that would be very nice of you. Yes, thank you. I mean, please. I mean . . . okay."

I smiled, resisting the urge to reach over to pinch his cheeks or something.

* * *

**So, hope you guys are still enjoying it! **

**That's it for a little bit while I let it simmer some more! I'll try and get some more out to ya tonight, but if I don't, bright and early tomorrow! :-)**

**Thoughts so far?**


	12. Chapter 11

***11***

As we sat down, I had a smile on my face but Edward looked like a deer caught in headlights.

It was clear he was waiting for me to say something. So I did. "So, what you are gonna order?" Smooth.

"Oh . . . right." He snatched up the menu quickly, almost as if he was just remembering where he was. "Do you eat?" he blurted out, then groaned. "Here. Do you eat here? What's good . . . to eat?"

"I do eat here." I smiled. "I also work here."

"Oh."

That disappointed reaction was the last thing I expected.

"What?"

"You're . . . you must be the hot babe." He frowned.

Well that certainly didn't explain anything. "I'm sorry?"

"Hey, guys." Tanya came then, rudely interrupting. I tried to send her a scathing look, but she was undeterred. "Hi, cute guy." She reached her hand across the table and plopped down on the seat, wiggling her butt so I would scoot over. "You must be Edward." As if she didn't know. His eyes widened in shock again as she continued. "I'm Tanya."

"My evil step-sister."

"Her bestie, actually." She glared at me, then faced Edward again. "So if you're not gonna order, wanna go to the mall with us? Ow!" That's her response to my pinching the shit out of her arm.

"If you'll excuse us." I raised a finger to Edward, already moving my butt against the seat to move Tanya out of it. "We'll be right back." Then I curled my hand around her elbow, yanking her to the back. "Tanya."

"What?"

"Slow down the …" I curved my fingers and mimicked a cat scratching the air. "Look at him." We both bent around the wall again, noticing Edward wiping his hands over his pants repeatedly. A clear sign he was nervous and his palms were probably sweating.

"What am I looking at, exactly?"

"I can't just . . ." I did the air scratch thing again ". . . pounce. He's—"

"A college guy, who I'm sure likes parties and pussy like anyone else."

"T!"

"What?" she snapped, this time frustrated. "You got mad about my playful nerdy comment, but you're the one totally judging him right now."

"What the hell?"

"It's true. You're all trying to reign yourself in after knowing him for what … a day. Why? 'Cause he wears glasses, and is shy and stutters over his words?"

I frowned, feeling like I was getting scolded by my mother—you know if she were still alive. "You're being kinda mean right now."

She sighed—that sisterly sigh that let me know she was done with this conversation.

"Just . . . don't try going so easy on him unless he's proven to need the coddling. If he _is_ insecure and all that—which he might not be—but if he is, you acting all soft might backfire once he realizes it's not you. I mean, had it been Sam from the football team, you'd be sitting on his lap by now and—"

"Okay, okay I get it. You don't have to make me sound like a man-eating whore monger."

"Man-eater, flirt, cock-tease." She shrugged with a smile. "Tomato, potato."

"Yeah, 'cause that is exactly how the saying goes."

* * *

**Good morning! :-)**

**I'm giddy that you guys are enjoying this so much, so far! Looks like there's a looooonnngggg line forming to get in your Edward hugs! Sadly, I don't think Bella will allow it! Lol ... and you guys' stories, similar experiences, and psych projects in school? Dying, DYING! Lol you put these guys to shame!**

**And I'm glad you like Tanya, she deserves a break sometimes, yes? If you haven't yet, you should check out "In Your Room" by Layathomemom (One of my fave Tanya's ever! and Esme, too) ;-)**

**Muah**


	13. Chapter 12

***12***

"Hey," I greeted Edward as I sat back down at his booth.

"I'll do the mall solo," Tanya huffed. "But the party tonight—" she put two fingers to her eyes, then pointed them at me "—you and I, missy."

"I promise." I saluted her.

When I looked back at Edward, he had an indifferent look on his face that teetered really close to a suspicious glare. My stomach dropped, wondering if I was already wearing out my welcome.

"You know what?" I acted as though the mother of all epiphanies had just come to me. "I just remembered I had to do something. So . . . yeah, you enjoy your lunch. Sorry to intrude."

"You're leaving?"

Christ nabbits with the whiplash. "You want me to stay?" He nodded. "Then," I huffed, "What's with the mean muggin'? I thought maybe I was annoying you or something."

"Mean muggin'?"

"Yeah—you know giving me a dirty look."

His eyes widened comically large behind his glasses. "I . . . I would never."

"Then what's wrong?"

"I'm—" he looked down "—I'm just trying to figure out why you're being so sweet to me. Especially since you've never noticed me before." I'm pretty sure my heart sank deeper than when he told me he thought I was hugging him because of a joke. "And," he looked up, garnering me with a look that, I didn't give a shit what he said, was a glare, "you have a boyfriend."

"I have a what? No I don't."

"Yes, you do," he argued. "Billy is an asshole but he still cares about you."

"Billy?" I covered my mouth with my hands and swallowed several times to keep from throwing up in my mouth. "Please tell me you're not talking about Buffalo, I mean Billy Black?"

"I am." He nodded. "His brother is one of my best friends and he talks about you all the time. Says you're a babe. He recommended this restaurant actually."

Ah, his comment makes a little more sense now, but poor guy is operating on misguided information. "Tanya's the babe, Edward. You got the wrong girl."

"I don't understand."

"Tanya, the girl who just sat with us—my sister? She's the one dating Billy, not me."

He shook his head in disagreement. "But Jacob specifically said Billy's foxy girlfriend worked here. And really you—you're the only foxy babe I see here."

Realizing what he said, Edward ducked his head again, and apologized if he'd offended me. I smiled at him and—putting aside the fact I hadn't ever heard someone say 'foxy babe' in real life—I came to a realization.

Edward—in his own little way— was smooth without knowing it.


	14. Chapter 13

***13***

"Are you sure you don't wanna come?" I looked up at Edward as we exited the diner a little while later. I don't know if it was nerves or the fact he changed his mind about being hungry, but he only ended up having some fries. So, though we didn't hang out that long, it didn't change the fact I thoroughly enjoyed his company and was aching at the thought of our time ending so soon. "I've been to Laurent's parties before, he's actually a really nice guy."

"That's okay," he whispered, pushing up his glasses. I don't know why I found that so cute. "I have a thing tonight, actually. But thank you for inviting me."

Silently, I stood waiting to see if he was going to elaborate on the 'thing' he had tonight. Maybe even extend an invitation to include me, like I did him. He didn't.

I walked home feeling slightly dejected.

"What's up, buttercup?" Tanya greeted me as soon as I walked into our apartment.

"What are you doing here? What happened to the mall?"

"Changed my mind." She shrugged. "Now tell me what's wrong."

"Edward," I sighed, explaining the last few minutes of our time spent together. "He's totally not interested, huh?"

"I think it's too soon to jump to that conclusion."

"Then what the hell do I do?"

"Did you get his number?" I nodded. "Did he get yours?"

"We did the call each other's cell phone thing. So, yeah, he has it."

"Okay, so now you have a decision to make."

"What decision is that?" I sat down silently, knowing I was about to get schooled. For as stupid as Tanya tended to be when it came to her 'relationship' with Billy, she gave some pretty awesome advice. And, of course, always had my best interests at heart.

"The first person to call—"

"Is normally the one more interested?"

"—tends to be the more assertive or aggressive one of the two," she spoke over me with a soft glare of challenge. I mimed zipping my lips. "We obviously know he's shy, and still can't figure out why you're acknowledging his presence. Odds are, he's not gonna call. So you'll have to."


	15. Chapter 14

***14***

The beginnings of the party didn't bring as much joy to me as parties normally did. My bottomless Solo cup and fake lesbian dancing with Tanya didn't serve up enough distraction. And no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't stop thinking about Edward.

"A day, Bells. You've known him for day. Snap out of it."

I sent Emmett a glare, while I'm pretty sure Tanya actually hissed at him.

"You wouldn't understand."

"You're right." He shrugged, chugging down his beer. "I don't. If you wanna talk to him so bad, just call him. If not then . . ." he waved a hand at our fellow partygoers to indicate the other guys I could be trying to gain attention from.

I didn't want attention from any of them though.

They weren't Edward.

xXx

I probably should've felt a semblance of pathetic, with the way I was acting, but I couldn't find it in myself to care.

So making an excuse that I needed fresh air, I slipped outside and pulled out my phone.

**Hey.** I texted Edward.

Not even two seconds later, I got a response. **Hi, Bella. How was the party tonight?**

Damn. Even him saying my name via text had me smiling.

There was only one thing to do. I immediately changed his ring tone to Usher's 'U Got it bad'. 'Cause I already did.


	16. Chapter 15

***15***

Since school and work proved to be needy bitches that demanded our undivided attention, Edward and I spent the next few days relying heavily on texting to communicate.

Hands down, even though being able to feel his nervousness radiate off the phone, he had to be one the sweetest guys in existence.

After texting him for a few minutes at the party, my mood had been lifted to epic proportions. So I indulged myself, spending some quality time with a long lost love.

Captain Morgan.

The next morning, I spent the first few hours of the day promising God everything including my first born child if he would make the hangover subside. He knew I was full of shit and didn't bite.

Edward, however, offered to come over and take care of me.

I was close to swooning over the idea—though I suspect that was part dizziness from dehydration caused by the hurling—but I had to pass.

We hadn't even been out on a date yet, and the last thing he needed was to see me in that state of hot mess.

His offer though, had Tanya and even Emmett, teasing me that he might be the one. Because not everyone—after knowing someone for that short amount of time—would offer up that kind of help. I didn't comment.

On Thursday, thanks to a lot of complaining from some of the students, professor Aro decided to extend our project assignments. I begged and pleaded to be able to turn in my paper, knowing full well 'extending' the due date, would only result in adding to the assignment as well. I was outvoted, but when he tacked on another task for us to do, I was vindicated.

"Ya'll should have listened to me," I taunted Tanya and Emmett after class. "Professors agreeing to shit like that works out as well as two friends trying to fuck. There always ends up being strings attached in the end." When they fidgeted a little at my comment, I cringed. "Sorry . . . I didn't mean—"

"It's okay," Emmett jumped in with a strained chuckle. "Call me tomorrow." He gave me a kiss on the cheek and Tanya a shoulder squeeze. "We'll figure out what our group violation is gonna be."

I snorted. That sounded so wrong, but sadly 'group violations' were what was added to the project.

Since we got the chance to experience the whole social norm bullshit individually, Professor Aro said we also needed to see what reactions we would solicit if we did it in a group. And though we were allowed to pick our group—of three or four—we weren't allowed to do anything we were already assigned individually.

That left the three of us either: Taste testing at a buffet line, purposefully studying loudly at the library, or randomly breaking out into song and dance in public.

I just knew this was going to be the most mortifying experience yet.

* * *

**That's it for a bit :-)**

**Thanks for reading ... please review! *kisses***

**~Lo**


	17. Chapter 16

**Morning, my loves! I wanted to get more to you last night but the Fair made me it's bitch! I knocked out as soon as I got home! But we're still gonna hit that complete today at about 36 chaps I think. Short and sweet! :-) (for me lol)**

**Thanks again to the usual suspects, Kim T., Bridgette, Sheri ... Thanks for always being there!**

**Our DW admins, Mina, Ana, ****Micaela Helene**

**And special thanks to all of you for reading! You put constant smiles on my face!**

* * *

***16***

"I personally think it would be funny to take our books to the buffet, do the loud studying thing, and bust out a song into our spoons while doing the taste test. A combo of all three."

With an expressionless face, I blinked at Emmett. "No."

"Oh, man. Why not?"

"Because the object of this project isn't so people can think we're insane and off our meds."

"It would be funny as hell to see their faces, though."

Couldn't argue with him there.

"So, you talked to your boy yet today?"

"I talked to him this morning, actually," I said a little haughtily, knowing I was about to get teased.

"Sprung."

"Whatever."

"Are you guys finally hanging out tonight?"

I frowned and whispered, "No. He has to work."

"Where does he work?"

"The bookstore." I glared when his lips twitched.

"_What _bookstore?"

"A regular bookstore. That may or may not also have comic books and video games on the shelves."

"Classic."

"Watch it!"

"I'm just teasing you." He bumped my shoulder, turning his attention back to the TV. It was a Saturday night, and we were just chilling on my couch accomplishing a whole lot of nothing. "I don't know why there's a stigma with that—every guy I know likes that shit to an extent. Plus," his voice dropped, "it's nice you've found someone cool; tame. And nothing like Jenks."

I scoffed and snorted but it was half-hearted. "Found someone? Please . . . I've known Edward for like a week."

"What's that mean? You were ready to marry his ass after one day."

"Was not."

"Yeah okay—" he chuckled and cleared his throat "—anyway, where's T?"

"At Billy's," I said softly, gauging his reaction. All he did was nod, even though I know a part of him hated everything about the situation.

I've known Tanya since I was two shits high; long before we became step-sisters when our fathers got together. And though we only met Emmett at a party freshman year, we became fast friends with him. Last year, though, for a brief few months, the two of them decided they would be fuck-buddies. It didn't end badly, but it didn't end well either.

This is because Tanya did a much better job at staying emotionally detached with the situation, much to mine and Emmett's dismay. So when she started dating Billy, it was awkward for a long while.

"Let's go somewhere," I offered suddenly, wanting to take his mind off of it. "Not a party or club, though. Let's just go to a quiet bar or restaurant and chill out."


	18. Chapter 17

***17***

"I'm lame."

"Emmett, would you stop?"

"No, really." He looked down at his glass of . . .

"What did you order?"

"Scotch."

"Eww!"

"Yeah, I shoulda went with a beer."

"Okay—" I answered him, waving my hand in the air to get a bartenders attention "—I'll bite. Why are you lame?" This time.

"'Cause—" he huffed "—I'm pretty sure I'm the only guy on the fucking face of the planet that's ever fucked up a fuck-buddy situation."

I snorted, causing me to almost choke on my drink. "Yeah, we both know that's not true."

"Still." His shoulders slumped.

"Emmett, listen to me. You didn't fuck anything up. Tanya's just," I scrunched up my nose, "Inept when it comes to love, we both know that. With falling in love, it's like she's allergic to it or something."

"I mean, I get that but . . . fuck." He grabbed a handful of his hair. "How fucked up is it that when I asked her to be with me she couldn't handle a relationship, but what, a few months later, she turns around and is all 'I'm Billy's girl now'. It doesn't get more fucked up than that."

"Agreed."

"I think I need to fuck her one good time, you know. Make her remember what she's missing. I know I'm bigger than that dickhead anyway. He can't make her scream like I can."

"Okay, first of all, I'm gonna need you to not talk to me about T like I'm just one of the guys. 'Cause eww. Second," I frowned and threw an arm around him," going there right now—that's if she would even let you—would only complicate things more. And another thing …" This time my face changed to a look of challenge "… let's not pretend you've been sitting around pining for her for the past six months or whatever. I think you're just sad now that Whoralie isn't around." I batted my eyelashes, referring to his ex, Rosalie.

I didn't have a problem with her—in theory—and she was always nice while they were 'together'. But she turned a little insane, and then I became the 'whore' Emmett was cheating on her with. Versus the best friend who had to call the cops when she showed up at my house not once, not twice, but five times looking for Emmett in the middle of the night.

"You just need to get back out there," I said. "And I'll help you."

"You'd help me date someone else? What about Tanya?"

I sighed. We'd actually had this talk before—T and I. She loved Emmett, but not in a way that would allow them to ever be in a bona fide relationship. But more importantly, I think it had more to do with the fact she knew how volatile she got in relationships and didn't want to inflict that crazy she-beast she turned into on him.

"What about your boy?"

"What about him?"

Emmett shrugged. "Maybe he has a friend or sister he could introduce me to. Someone calm—collected, you know. The opposite of me, to keep me on track."

I gave him a sincere grin. "Well … how about I go on an actual date with him first and see how it goes. Then we can discuss your relationship options. Sound good?"

"Good." He reached his hands out for me to shake. "Now … let's talk about this group project shit."

I groaned.

I really didn't want to do this.


	19. Chapter 18

***18***

"Okay, let's just get this over with," Tanya grumbled the next morning.

I nodded, and swallowing down the bile threatening to make its presence known in my mouth, murmured my agreement. "Yeah, I have a toilet waiting for me to become one with it at home."

"You guys are lucky you didn't have to work. How would you have handled that hungover?"

"I called in, remember?"

"Yeah, so did I."

Emmett snorted. "Well, at least we're about to eat—that should make you feel better."

"No." I shook my head, and dry heaved a little, my shoulders doing the crack twitch shaking from the effects of the alcohol. "You're gonna eat. We," I waved between me and Tanya, "are only gonna fake taste test stuff."

Hanging out at the bar didn't last long for me and Emmett when Tanya called to see if we wanted to check out a party Billy was dragging her to. And never ones to be able to turn down free alcohol, we went a little overboard.

After waking up and cursing each other to hell, we decided to try and get food in our stomachs. And since Tanya and I called in, we couldn't very well eat breakfast anywhere near "The Ave" without risking being seen. So when Emmett suggested we jump on the I-5 North toward Lynwood so we could check out Old Country Buffett, we readily agreed.

Only to regret that decision when he also suggested—demanded—in the parking lot that we do our buffet assignment here. It was a battle of wills for about two minutes—because we didn't have the energy for more—before Tanya and I agreed.

* * *

**I don't live in Seattle LOL never been! So if that's the wrong directions to Old Country blame Google maps! ;-) **


	20. Chapter 19

***19*  
**  
After we paid and picked our table, the three of us made our way to the buffet lines.

Once there, Emmett sent us what he clearly thought was a sly wink, before snatching up a spoon at the end of the line, taking a large serving of eggs straight from its tray, and shoved it into his mouth.

I watched, with a semi-amused expression, as the lady next to him made a face of disgust and moved on to another tray of food, clearly no longer finding the eggs appealing.

Setting the spoon down, and grabbing another, he sent me another wink before starting to hum loudly.

Not sure if this was supposed to be some sort of sign, I searched around for Tanya just in time to see her pick up a fork, stab a sausage link and put it in her mouth before placing the fork off to the side to get a clean one from the stack.

The guy next to her either didn't notice, or didn't care, and grabbing the tongs placed some sausages on his plate.

Realizing he probably found her more annoying than anything, she searched me out giving me a look of victory and encouragement.

Okay, here goes nothing.

Choosing, instead, not to use a spoon or knife, I picked up a toothpick to stab a piece of fruit with it. I repeated the process a couple times, making sure not to use the same one, before a lady gasped from beside me.

"Just what on earth do you think you're doing?"

"What?" I batted my eyelashes. "I'm just tasting them."

"By sticking the same toothpick into different fruits?"

"It's not the same." I pointed to the stack of toothpicks on my plate. "I'm just making sure they're good and fresh. Kinda like when people taste the grapes at the grocery store, you know?"

It was clear by the look on her face, and the way her eyes kept darting back and forth between my plate and the platter of fruit, she wanted to say more but she didn't. With a narrowing of her eyes, she simply mumbled something under her breath before walking off.

Deciding I'd had enough of experimenting, I served myself a bowl full of fruit and made my way back to the table to join Em and Tanya. Ironically enough though, as soon as I sat down, I realized I didn't have a fork.

"I'll be right back."

With barely enough energy to walk, I slumped my way back to the buffet, grumbling greetings to a few faces I recognized. It wasn't uncommon for our classmates to opt for the fifteen minute drive to Old Country on a Sunday morning.

Just as I reached for a fork, a hand appeared, and yanked it away.

I looked up and glared, only to come face to face with the same lady from before.

"You again."

"Yup." I gave her a forced, taunting smile. "I ran out of toothpicks."

She opened her mouth to say something then, but a voice interrupted her.

A voice that made both of us stiffen.

"Mom, is everything okay?"

No, no, no. I turned around and sure enough, I'd just been ruder than shit to Edward's mother.

What are the odds?

* * *

**A/N: In fic world, the odds are always high! LOL.**

**Bwahaha!**


	21. Chapter 20

***20***

My mind registered the shock of standing right between Edward and his mother, but all my body and heart cared about was the fact this was the first time I'd seen him since the day at the diner.

"Edward." I gave him a sincere and giddy smile. "Hi."

"Bella? What are you doing here? Talking to my mom, I mean—not what are you doing at the buffet. 'Cause obviously you're eating. Well, not eating right this second, but …" he gulped, cutting the rest of his statement short.

"Yeah—" I let out a strained chuckle "—Umm …"

"Edward, did you just call her Bella?"

Both our necks snapped to face his mother then, almost as if we'd forgotten she was there.

"Yes?"

With an impassive expression on her face, Edward's mother silently appraised me for a second before her mouth split into a smile. "Oh, Bella … it is so good to finally meet you."

"It is?"

Her green eyes—similar to Edward's—widened in excitement.

"Of course. Oh, let me look at you. Edward, she is gorgeous."

I craned my neck to glance over my shoulder and look at him.

'The fuck?' I mouthed.

He shrugged, but the shuffling of his weight from side to side and the blush of his cheeks let me know he was guilty of something.

"Come, come … let me introduce you to Mr. Cullen."

"Mom," Edward whined, but she shushed him.

"Quiet, now," she said in a scolding tone. "You're dad'll want to meet her, too."

"Oh … well, I—" I tried to protest, feeling very much overwhelmed and nauseous, but she shushed me, too. Quickly grabbing my hand to pull me along.

"Carlisle," she barked at the poor blond man who—while trying to pour the entire contents of the syrup bottle on his pancakes—got the shit scared out of him. "Dr. Myers said easy on sweets. That includes syrup."

"Sorry," he mumbled, grabbing a pair of glasses from the table and standing up. "And who is this?" He adjusted the glasses on his face.

"This is Edward's Bella."

I am? "Umm, hi."

"Sit, sit," Mrs. Cullen squealed a little.

"Oh … uh, I'm actually here with some friends, and ..." I looked over at Edward with a quintessential 'help me' look, but his ducked head, and fingers fidgeting with each other, showed me he was useless to my cause. I tilted my head to the side, appraising him, wondering what might be going through his head. His parents just seemed so … in your face—his mom at least. And I couldn't help but wonder, not only what he had told them, but _why_ they were so eager at meeting me.

So, not wanting to further embarrass him by actually denying his mother's request, I said, "Sure."

His head snapped up, his eyes shocked and hopeful all at once. "You don't have to."

"Nonsense." I waved a hand in the air, and plunked myself down in a chair.

Facing his parents, I took in a deep breath because I just knew I was about to face the mother of all interrogations.

Literally.

* * *

**Pics on the blog :-) **


	22. Chapter 21

***21***

"Well, that was . . ." My eyes glazed over a little as Edward and I watched his parents drive away—his mom waving eagerly out of the window.

They were nice—almost _too_ nice—but I was right in my assumptions I was going to get interrogated.

The questions ranged from how old I was to what I was majoring in—they took me still being undecided better than most people do. Then when they exhausted that topic, it switched to whether or not I saw myself getting married and having kids one day, and if I have any history of heart disease or birth defects in my family.

That's when, mercifully, Emmett came looking for me.

And after a few glares from Edward's parents, they deduced Emmett wasn't a threat to their son and invited him, as well as Tanya, to come sit with us.

They weren't spared from the twenty questions, either.

But Edward stayed quiet the entire time.

"I'm sorry my parents are so embarrassing," he mumbled, head down, refusing to look at me.

We were by the car, so I grabbed his arm to step to the side—not wanting or needing, T and Em to overhear our talk.

"Hey." I placed a hand on his arm. "Look at me." He did, but with a sad smile. "Your parents are not embarrassing, they just . . . Uh, care is all."

"Yeah, but no matter how many times I told them you're not my girlfriend, they wouldn't believe me." He snorted at that. "As if you'd ever be my girlfriend, ya know."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It's just . . . well, you're just so," he paused to take a breath, then looked at me with a curious eye, noticing I probably looked offended as hell. "Is that something you'd ever want to do? Be my girlfriend?"

I couldn't help but let out a little giggle. "I think we need to go on a date first. Don't you?" I'm not sure how well I succeeded, still slightly feeling like I was on the verge of throwing up at any second, but I tried to throw him a flirty look, hoping he would be able to pick up what I was putting down.

Asking him for a date myself, was an option, of course. But at the same time, I wanted him to do it. Not because he was the guy, but because I needed him to take that step. Gain a little confidence when it came to me. Know I was interested but not pushy.

When he didn't answer, I pressed a little more. So much for not being pushy, huh. "Edward?" I squeezed the hand that was already on his arm. "Don't you think we should go on a date first before we talk about girlfriend stuff?"

"Well, of course. That's how it works. People date, get to know each other, then if their feelings are strong enough, they discuss being in a relationship with each other. That's the natural progression of things."

"Right." I nodded. "So . . ."

"Yes?"

"Edward." I chuckled. "The date."

"Oh." His hand went to the back of his neck. "Right. Umm . . . will you consider? What I mean to say is that, if I were to ask you, hypothetically of course—" I dropped my hand from his arm to grip his fingers. "Okay," he exhaled. "Will you go out with me? On a date, I mean?"

"Well . . ." I cocked a teasing eyebrow, but his face fell at my hesitation and I felt like shit. "Edward, come on." I threw my arms around his neck with a soft laugh. "Of course. I'd love to go out with you."

* * *

**So, I'm gonna dump several chaps on ya at once ... take a break to make sure some things get done (you know how that is) and we'll finish it up this afternoon or tonight! Sound good!? :-)**


	23. Chapter 22

**We bounce POV's a little from now to the end! **

* * *

***22***

**EPOV**

As I got ready for my date with Bella, I found myself doing a little dance in my room. Though I'm sure it only resembled flailing arms and legs, as I chanted "I have a date tonight, I have a date tonight," over and over—we'll call it dancing for appearance sake.

I couldn't believe this was actually happening; my first real date.

That is unless you count high school senior prom. In which I went with my best friend—Alice— because neither of us wanted to go alone. We even had a typical 'prom night' but yeah, that was the one and only time.

So I think it's safe to say going out with Bella constituted as my first date. Though I'd never tell her that.

Being a twenty-one year old guy who's never had a real girlfriend would only garner me her pity.

I was still flummoxed about the fact she was speaking to me, wanting to hang out with me, and agreed to this date in the first place. So pity was the last thing I wanted from Bella.

After my initial excitement at the mall died down, I convinced myself she was simply communicating with me to be nice. Or that she wanted to be my friend and nothing more.

And when the night after the diner—and during our weekly game night—my friend's joked about her only wanting help with her homework, the thought made me a little sad. It was actually more feasible than her suddenly noticing me.

But after talking to her for a few days, I knew that wasn't true. Bella, the Bella I first saw freshman year, the one who always had a smile on her face, even if it was a small or tired one, was still the same and couldn't possibly be like that.

She was always nice to me on the phone, too. Never once asking me for anything—just wanting to talk about my day.

Though I never had much to tell her, really, just about classes and working at the bookstore, she always listened on intently asking me to elaborate more.

That in itself always made my day.

"Okay," I huffed, looking myself over in the mirror. We were just doing the typical dinner and movie, but I wanted to look nice and impress her. So I opted for jeans, a dress shirt and tie. I read somewhere that it was a good way to give off a cool casual vibe.

I hope they were right.


	24. Chapter 23

***23***

**BPOV**

"T?"

"Yeah, you look like a whore," she answered, not even bothering to look up.

"Really?"

"Just returning the favor," she snickered, glancing up from her magazine. "Wow, you look really pretty, sis."

"Yeah?" I looked down, grabbing at the hem of my red sundress. It flowed out a little, and was spaghetti-strapped. I wanted to give off a sexy but sweet vibe. "I'm going for like sugar and spice. Not, you know, over the top?"

"It's perfect." She smiled, tilting her head to the side. "It's sweet you're going out on a date."

"I've been on dates before," I mumbled. "Stop being weird."

"I know. Just . . . this seems a little different."

I know what she meant.

"But this is good, right?" I asked again for reassurance. "It's good for a Saturday night date and doesn't scream Sunday brunch and church with the parents?" You would think my stressing over what to wear all week would've died down by now, but nope.

"It's perfect." She winked, settling back into the couch. That caught my attention.

"Not going out tonight? Where's Buffalo?"

"Nah," she replied flippantly. "Billy's being an ass, and I'm not in the going out mood." No wonder she didn't comment on my calling him his nickname. "So I'm just gonna watch a movie, or two. And . . . umm—" she averted her gaze "—Emmett's coming over."

"Say what now?"

"Yeah. He said he wanted to talk to me about a few things."

"What things?"

"He didn't say, but I have some ideas."

Yeah, me too.

A few minutes later, a knock on the door almost had me flying in the air.

"Jeez." I smacked a hand to my chest. "I don't think I've ever been this nervous before."

"Nerves are good. Nerves make it feel more special."

Taking a deep breath, I opened the door—my face splitting into a smile when I saw Edward there with an enormous array of flowers in hand.


	25. Chapter 24

***24***

"El Guacho's really nice, you'll like it," Edward said, his voice quivering a little.

We were both a fidgeting mess as we made our way to the restaurant, so I was glad he broke the silence.

"I've heard some nice things about it." I looked over and smiled at him, then laughed, remembering Phil and Charlie trying to bring me there for my birthday one year. "From my dads, especially."

"Your _dads_? Did you just say dads?"

I don't think I've ever glared at someone so hard. "Yes. My dads. Plural. I have two. Is that a problem?"

"Whoa, Bella," Edward almost snapped at me. "I just wanted to make sure I heard you right. I meant no judgment by that."

"Sorry, sorry," I muttered quickly, my face red from embarrassment at my split reaction. "I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I'm just—people can be cruel, you know?"

"Yeah," he whispered, "I know."

xXx

After we were seated, my nerves came back and I had absolutely no idea what to talk about.

Edward, again, broke up the silence.

"Bella?"

"Yeah?" I looked up from playing with the ends of my hair.

"I . . . about earlier—" his words were cut off when the waiter came to give us our dinner menus and ask if we wanted anything to drink. "Give us a minute?" Edward requested. Our waiter nodded, telling us to take our time. "Earlier," he repeated. "The thing about your fathers, I hope you're not offended by my surprise?"

"Oh, that?" I waved a hand in the air. "No, I should apologize."

He grinned. "You already did."

So cute. "Really, I'm just quiet 'cause I'm so nervous."

"Nervous? Why?"

"I like you," I said simply. "And I want us to have a nice night. Plus, I've never been to a restaurant this nice before—" I looked around "—unless it was with family and for a special occasion."

"You like me?"

"Of course."

"I like you, too." He beamed. "Would you like to go somewhere else?"

"No, no," I rushed out, snatching up the menu and opening it. "I'm glad—" I had to stop myself when I noticed the prices on the menu. "Edward?" I looked at him wide-eyed. His responding wide-eyed reaction as he looked at the menu was enough to not make me feel bad. Also, it brought to light that he was so busted. "You've never been here either, have you?" I imagine if he had, the prices wouldn't have shocked him as much.

I did well enough at the diner, but I was still pretty frugal with things. At times, I still had to call my dad up for some cash if me and T needed a little help. And if working at the bookstore, and his second hand car—not to mention his shock—was any indication, Edward was working with the typical college-kid budget as well. Not rolling in the doe like some multi-gazillionaire.

"It's okay," he tried to reassure me, but I could still see a bit of paleness in his features. "We can, still—"

I couldn't let him do this. Couldn't let him insist we force ourselves to pay almost forty bucks for a plate of pasta, and fifteen for a salad.

"—what we can do … what you can do for me, is say we can go to, like,  
Pagliacci's or Tutta's for some pizza. Trust me—pizza is the way to a girl's heart. Every. Single. Time."

"Pizza, huh?" He smiled, still shy, almost crookedly.

"And chocolate," I added. "Pizza and chocolate. Oh, and cupcakes. Yum."

He full out laughed then, as he stood up and reached his hand out to me. "The honor of escorting you to some pizza, miss?"

Placing my hand in his, I nodded and smiled. "See you're already halfway there." When his eyebrows crinkled, I snickered. "Didn't I just tell you the way to a women's heart?"


	26. Chapter 25

***25***

After getting our pizza, it started to sprinkle, so I suggested we hang out at his place to wait it out before our movie started.

Though clearly a little nervous, Edward readily agreed.

When we got inside, I smiled. His apartment was nice—spacious, but it screamed 'boy'.

It was sparsely decorated and the furniture didn't match, but right in the middle of the living room was a massive TV screen. Games and game controllers littered on the floor in front of it.

He rushed to pick them up, and I bent down, looking at one I actually recognize. A war type game.

"Do you play?"

"Nah." I handed it to him. "Emmett does, though. He has that one."

"Oh. That's the big guy you're always with."

"Always with?"

"You know what I mean. Umm . . . would you like a drink? Something to eat maybe?" I shook my head, reminding him we'd just finished eating and drinking at the restaurant. "Oh, right."

I decided then it was best to just make myself at home. He was clearly still a little nervous, and I wasn't.

"So you wanna see what's on while we wait?" I gestured to the TV.

"Or we could just . . . watch a movie? Here."

One corner of my mouth curved into a smile. "Sure."

I cuddled into my pillow, relishing in the strange warmth, until I felt myself being shook.

"Bella?"

"Huh, what, who's there?" I sat up quickly, looking around. My eyebrows wrinkled instinctively when I realized I wasn't home.

"Bella?"

I turned quickly, my head almost colliding with Edward's.

Oh, right. Edward. Our date. "The movie," I croaked out.

He snorted. "Yeah, you fell asleep like thirty minutes in."

"If we had just watched 'The Princess Bride' that wouldn't have happened. Just sayin'." Then standing up and stretching, I looked around at the dark and asked, "What time is it?"

"It's pretty late, actually," he said sheepishly, following my lead off the couch. "And it's still raining. So did you want to ... That is to say, are you planning on — if you'd like to stay here tonight, that'd be okay." He rocked on his heels a little bit.

"Are you asking me to spend the night?"

* * *

**Yup! ;-)**


	27. Chapter 26

***26***

**EPOV**

Oh, my God. Oh, my god. Oh, my fucking God.

I did not just ask Bella if she wanted to stay the night with me on the first date we ever had.

Good lord, what she must be thinking.

"Bella, please know I'm not implying or insinuating anything with my offer. Really, I just want to make sure you're safe." And I really don't feel like driving at this time of night, and would really, really like for you to say.

I, of course, said that last part in my head.

Her lips curved up into a slow smile, and I breathed a small sigh of relief when she said, 'yes', and that she knew my intentions were good.

The last thing I ever wanted to do was offend her. And I already almost had on the way to the restaurant.

The only thing though. "Umm..." I gripped the back of my neck. "I can sleep on the floor if you'd like, but I have to sleep in here."

Because even though I live alone, both my best friends have a key to my apartment. And my close proximity to the school and everything close to it, often has them stumbling in at all hours of the night. That actually doesn't bother me, but there was one unfortunate incident when Jacob got so drunk he didn't realize it was me who had fallen asleep on the couch.

That groping session had us avoiding eye contact for weeks.

I prayed to the high heavens Bella wouldn't ask me to elaborate on why.

"That's fine." She smiled. "Well, not about you sleeping on the floor, but you in here. We'll share the bed, of course."

My voice squeaked when I asked, "We will?"

Humming out a yes, she nodded and asked for the bathroom and something to sleep in.

With trembling hands, I reached into my dresser to hand Bella one of my largest shirts.

The gentleman in me told me I should've given her one of my smaller shirts, perhaps one that no longer fit me, but I couldn't help wanting to see her completely engulfed in my clothes.

"Do you prefer a side?"

I shook my head at her question. It really didn't matter because I knew I wouldn't be sleeping anyway with her lying right next to me.

We settled into the bed, me on my back and Bella on her side.

"Goodnight," I whispered out, my voice strained. Her being so close, and my being able to smell the sweet scent of her hair on my pillow already had my imagination and fantasies running rampant. If I didn't get them under control, I knew how my body would respond.

"Goodnight," she answered softly, leaning over and placing a lingering kiss on my cheek.

Damn.

Her lips were so soft and warm against my skin. In a bold move, I took a chance and tilted my head to the side, pressing my lips swiftly against hers and pulling away, praying I didn't get smacked.

I didn't.

She leaned over again, and placed another kiss against my cheek, whispered out another goodnight and rolled over.

I couldn't move, and mentally sent a message to . . . well, myself.

_Go back down, boy._


	28. Chapter 27

***27***

**BPOV**

A moral dilemma waged through me as Edward and I lay side by side on his bed, not touching, not moving, and barely breathing.

I wanted to attack him—in the good way of course—but my fears of his response kept stopping me.

He was just so timid and unsure of himself and I was pretty sure he was going to reject me. I just didn't know if it would be on gentlemanly principle alone, or maybe because he wasn't ready. Worse, he might think I'm a whore who goes around hugging strange men, being annoying at buffets, and sleeping with them on the first date.

My hand hovered in the air, trying to get the courage to touch him.

His sweet kiss had caught me by surprise, and excited me. But I was scared shitless of pushing too much, resulting in the ultimate shut down.

A part of me was just used to the guy making that first move, or us moving together–in sync. At the very least, us snuggling up in bed in some way, like him draping his arm over me.

But it was clear—despite my nerves—I was going to have to make even more of the first move than the simple kiss.

Taking a few deep breaths, I rested my hand on Edward's side and trailed it around to rest on his stomach. He tensed and stiffened so quickly, I had no choice but to snap my hands back. "I'm sorry."

"No, no, I'm sorry. I . . . you just startled me."

I didn't reply as I turned to my side, apologizing again.

"Please don't turn away. Can— I . . . will you let me? I'd really like —"

His struggling to find his words, his voice, was enough to snap me out of my momentary self-consciousness. It was still there, of course, but I knew I needed to tamp it down and worry about Edward. He was nervous and self-doubting enough for the both of us.

Turning back to face him, I pushed gently against his chest to coax him to his back, and rested my head on his chest. It felt like minutes passed before his hand came to rest against my hip.

I burrowed deeper into his side, throwing my leg over him. His answering hiss and a tense warning to 'please be careful' had me doing anything but. I brought my hand away from his chest, slowly sliding it down to the edge of his waistband.

"Why should I be careful?" I whispered in his ear, palming him through his pants. "You don't want me to?"

"Bella," his voice was strained, "Please, I—"

Now you see, this is my issue with the please thing: it's clearly subjective. While I took it as an invitation to continue what was about to go down, I would quickly come to find out it was a true plea to stop. A few rubs and Edward was tensing against me, with his breathing becoming ragged, before I felt wetness pooling against my hand.

I tried my best to maintain my shock, but I guess I didn't do a good job because the look on Edward's face showed that of pure mortification.

"It's okay," I said softly, reassuringly, but he didn't listen.

Instead, he flung himself off the bed and headed for the bathroom. I looked around the now empty room not knowing what I was supposed to say in comfort. I mean, plenty of guys come in their pants with just a few strokes, right?


	29. Chapter 28

***28***

"Edward." I knocked on the bathroom door, trying to stifle my giggles. I didn't find the whole premature ejaculation thing funny—that would be cruel. But his reaction, him now locking himself in the bathroom and refusing to come out, was too dramatic not to be funny. "Would you please come out here?"

"No."

"Please? For me?"

"Never," he whined through the door. "I'm never coming out again.

"Edward. It's not even a big deal. I'm pretty sure ninety percent of men have experienced pre-ejaculation before."

"And I'm pretty sure you just made that statistic up."

Obviously.

"Do you," I started then stopped, not sure how to phrase my question. "What I mean is, does that happen a lot?" Please, God—I hope not.

"How would I know?"

"Ummmm, you know when you've had sex before or _masturbated_," I whispered.

"Oh. Well, not really."

"See," I said triumphantly. "I probably just caught you off guard. Now, will you please come out here?"

"No."

I huffed and slumped down against the door. "I'm not leaving if that's what you're trying to get me to do. Not until you get to see me and know I'm really . . . like, I don't care you know." When he didn't answer, my brain told me it was time to try a different tactic to get him to come out. So I smirked and went with, "Plus, I'm pretty sure I can get you hard again."

"Bella."

"Ok, fine, sorry."

A few minutes passed before I spoke up again.

"I'm sorry I have no idea what to say, but really, it's okay." When he doesn't respond, I continue. "I'm here—I'm still here, right? That's gotta count for something."

The lock on the door unclicking brought a smile to my face, but it didn't last long when he didn't come out.

"Edward?"

"You can come in."

I frowned when I found him sitting on the bathroom floor, his back against the tub and his legs spread out in front of him.

"You're embarrassed." He nodded at my statement, but didn't look up at me. "Can you tell me why?"

His head snapped up at that. "Really?"

"I get the logistics." I sat down across from him, my back leaning against the cabinet, our legs touching. "I'm just wondering why you're embarrassed that it happened with me. Do you think I care?"

"You care."

"I only care that you're so upset, not that it happened. I swear," I added when it was clear he was still skeptical. "I'll even pinky swear."

When he finally cracked a smile, I felt like doing a touchdown dance.

"Now—" I stood up, reaching my hand out to him "—it's late, let's go to sleep."

And, hopefully, forget all about what happened.


	30. Chapter 29

***29***

After Edward took a few minutes to change, we went to sleep and put the whole debacle behind us.

When I awoke the next morning, I rolled over to see his eyes already open, staring at me.

"Hey."

"Hi." I gave him a sleepy smile. "You been awake long?"

"Kinda."

Momentarily, I felt bad, wondering if I'd kicked him during the night, or hogged the sheets. "Did you sleep?"

"Bella, that was one of the best night's sleep I've ever had."

My smile widened. "Me, too."

Once all the discomfort and awkwardness lifted, I'd cuddled into his side, and with his arms around me—I fell asleep again quickly. Almost faster than I did during the movie. Which reminds me . . .

"Do you work today?" he asked, when I sat up abruptly.

"No, I mean, yeah actually, but not until later. I have to call Tanya, though, before she loses her shit." Sure enough, when I got up and checked my phone, I had at least a dozen missed calls, and text messages.

I texted her quickly, **At Edward's—I'm okay. Love you, **then threw the phone back in my purse.

When I turned around, it was just in time to catch Edward adjusting himself through his pants.

Blood rushed to his face when he saw me looking at him. "Sorry."

Shaking my head, and unconsciously licking my lips, I crawled back into bed.

"Don't be."

It was like I was a cat in heat, my body registering the man in front of me after months and months of self-imposed celibacy.

I snuggled up to him, much like I had the night before. Before … well, you know what happened.

"I wish you didn't have to go to work today."

"Why?"

"Cause," he whispered. "I like you here, with me, like this. And I'm scared if you leave that maybe . . . I don't know, reality will set in and you won't be back."

"Oh, Edward," I sighed. "I really wish you'd kiss me right now. You'd see you have nothing to worry about."

I was glad he didn't need much coaxing or convincing to crane his neck to the side and capture my lips with his.

I brought my hand up to cup his cheek at the same time he brought his to lay on my hip and bring me closer to him.

When his hand trailed down to rub against the skin of my thigh, he stopped. "Bella, please tell me to stop if I'm being too forward."

"You're not." I threw my leg over his hip, shifting a little, purposely to rub myself against the bulge I felt hardening. "Am I?"

He croaked out a, "No." Groaning a little when I did it again. "I really hope I don't—"

"—Shhh . . ." I cut him off, not wanting to dwell on or bring up the night before. "Don't even worry about it. Just kiss me."

He did, firmly wrapping his hand behind my head while still managing to keep his kisses light and gentle.

I opened my mouth to him, urging his lips apart with my tongue, almost forcing a rougher, more intense kiss on him. It wasn't a moan, but an appreciative noise sounded from the back of Edward's throat when our tongues collided and I ground against him some more.

But a squeeze to my hip stopped me.

"What?"

"I just . . ." He shifted and grimaced.

"Oh, are you uncomfortable?"

He nodded, still cringing, but I smirked. "Well, then maybe you should take your pants off."


	31. Chapter 30

***30***

**EPOV**

I followed Bella's command without hesitation, shivering as she fluttered kisses over my neck, down my chest and ran her nose down the trail of hair that ran from my stomach to my pelvis.

The anticipation of what I could see happening on the horizon was killing me. "Bella?"

"If you don't want me to, I won't." She placed a kiss on my hip bone. "But don't stop me just because you think that's what I want to hear, either."

Oh, God! This was really happening. I wanted to punch the air, or let out a noise of excitement similar to a 'Woohooo!' but I didn't want to embarrass myself.

So with a sigh and a smile, I nodded my head, shifting my knees up to allow her space to get settled in between them.

With my legs bent, feet flat against the bed, and hands fisting at the sheets, I held my breath as I felt Bella's breathing fanning against my inner was a part of me—a very minute almost non-existent part—that told me the chivalrous thing to do was to stop her for real. Insist she doesn't need to engage in something I know some people find deplorable. But the dominant part that needed, literally ached, to feel what it was like to have someone's mouth on me won my attention back to Bella, I looked down at the wrong time—the same exact time she licked her lips, and eyed my dick like it was some sort of glorious meal, before wrapping her lips around the tip.**  
**  
"Holy . . ." I clenched my eyes shut and threw my head back against the bed.

Everything about what she was doing—her tongue, her mouth, her lips—sent shockwaves of burning heat and pleasure through me. "Bella." her name came out sounding like a choked groan. "This, you, it feels so ..." I felt her lips separating, taking in even more of me. "Oh, God."

Then, in an instant, her mouth was away from me. I let out whine and whimper of protest, but still asked, "Is everything okay?" Propping myself up on my elbows to look at her. She winked, adjusting her position before bending her head back down and tilting it to the side.

It was back, the warmth, the wetness now teasing at my balls.

"Jesus."

It became a teasing game then. Her mouth moving, sucking, fingers rolling them, before running her tongue up and down my shaft. All leading up to her swirling her tongue around the tip of my cock, and taking me all the way into her mouth. Repeating the process over, and over. It was torture. A sweet, slow, pleasurable torture.

I heard myself, choking out words, moany breaths, and whimpers begging her to ... Do something. I don't know. But I needed, it, her—whatever she was doing, she had me, all of me, in the palm of her hands. Not just in the physical sense, either.

When I felt myself completely enveloped by her mouth, my hips involuntary lifted off the bed, accidentally bucking, thrusting against her face. "Bella, I'm sorry."

She moaned and nodded, I assume to let me know it was okay but the vibrating sensation sent another jolt of pleasure through me.

This was insane.

I found myself almost giggling in excitement about what was happening—my first real date and my first blow job in the same weekend. I forced myself to open my eyes. To see, watch and relish the moment, savor it, but the visual overload was too much.

At the sight of Bella, her lips wrapped around me, her head bobbing up and down, every muscle in my body tightened, tensed, and words failed me. No warning was given as I felt the hot pulsing of my cum releasing into her mouth in several streams.

She didn't stop, though, and my whole body convulsed from the force of her spitting my seed back over my dick, and her hands gripping and pumping tightly around me.

"Oh, God. Oh, God." I dropped my legs, my body's trembling and the release of explosion seeming to last for an eternity. Finally feeling like I couldn't handle anymore, like my body might fall apart under her touch, I gently pulled Bella away from me by her hair.

I swallowed repeatedly, doing my best to get air back into my lungs as Bella resumed leaving trails of kisses up my stomach, past my chest to connect our lips together.

"Hi."

"Bella, wow." I wrapped my arms around her. I didn't know what else to say and 'thank you' didn't seem appropriate.

She let out a little giggle, resting her head on my chest.

As silence engulfed us, I fought to keep my eyes open. The idea of giving in to blissful sleep was quickly trying to overtake me, but I wouldn't let it win. I needed to take care of Bella the same way she did me.

Even if I had no idea what I was doing.

"Hey." I tried to get her attention. She hummed, barely lifting her head off my chest. "If you're okay with the idea—" I wanted to make sure "—I'd, umm … Bella, I'd really like to please you."

* * *

**And with that, I'll see you later and we'll pick up on some more smexing! **

**Thanks for reading, Please review :-)**

**Muah**

**~Lo**


	32. Chapter 31

***31***

**BPOV**

"Bella, I'm . . . I'd really like to please you."

I grinned widely. God, who says stuff like that? This sweet, perfect—in my eyes—guy in front of me right now. That's who. But my smile faltered when I saw the expression on his face. "What's wrong?"

"It's just that, I . . . I mean—what I'm trying to say is that I don't know how to?"

Oh. Understanding dawned on me then. "You're a virgin."

"Yes. I mean … no, I'm not. There was one girl, but—"

I had to cut him off, not needing to hear a thing about any past girl he's been with. "Okay, so then what's wrong?"

"I never … you know … to her." He gulped, nervousness shining behind his eyes.

Slowly sliding off my underwear, I sent him a wink. "You don't have to." I slid two fingers down in contradiction, swirling them around my clit. "You can just touch me, like this, if you want."

"No, I—I wanna taste you."

While he blushed at his own words, I smiled, feeling like I was getting hotter, wetter as the seconds ticked by.

"Here." I dipped a finger inside of me, then pulled it out. "Taste me." His mouth wrapped around my fingers, and I moaned. It was just so soft— his lips and tongue. "That's so sexy, babe."

"Yeah?" He grinned, shyly. "So . . . can I? You know, taste you—use my mouth?"

Abso-fucking-lutely.

"Only if you want to."

"I do. Just tell me what you like."

"Okay," I breathed out. "Umm . . . do what feels natural. Your instincts, your mouth, it'll feel good regardless."

He nodded, moving to kneel between my legs, hooking his arms underneath my thighs.

Well, that's a good start, I giggled, opening myself to him a little more.

He didn't pause, moving his tongue wildly over my clit, not concentrating in one place. It was different, eager, as he flicked it over my lips, kissed the apex of my thigh. Sucked, nipped, licked all over.

"Your fingers, too."

He nodded, his entire forehead creasing in focused concentration as he looked back and forth between my pussy and my face, gauging my reactions as he rubbed against me hard and fast.

I moaned, groaned and whimpered at every touch, letting him know he was pleasing me.

When he curled his fingers up, rubbing the tips of them against the little rough patch of nerves inside me, I almost flung off the bed.

"Yeah, yeah … there, Edward. Right there, baby."

"Here?" He did it again. "Yeah, that feels different."

"Fuck me. It feels good. So, so good. Don't stop."

His lips twitched a little, and I could tell he was proud of himself, as he should be. With one hand, I grabbed his wrist, bending it slightly as I planted my feet and bucked against his hand—his fingers.

I felt the tension surging through me, my muscles constricting as his fingers worked me over. I tried to push his hand away, knowing what was coming. But with his hands out of the way, Edward brought his mouth back to me. Back to my slick, sensitive flesh. Rubbing his tongue against me, moaning around my clit. Sucking it into his mouth. Then he stuck two fingers back inside me, looking up at me for reassurance.

"Holy shit," I gasped and panted. Convulsing, trembling, tensing. "Do—" I moaned "—do you feel that? Feel me . . . fuck, that's—I'm gonna come soon."

"Really?"

"Uh huh." I nodded, falling back against the bed. "Just don't stop. Please don't stop."

"I won't."

He continued his combination of fucking me with his hands, playing with my clit with his tongue. All until I was a thrashing panting mess on the bed. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, Edward, okay, okay." I gripped his hair to pull him up. His face was shining, both from me and from his smugness. "Oh, my God. Come here." I reached down, placing my palms flat against his dick, rubbing my hands against him.

There was no sense in playing coy after all that just went down.

His dick was in my mouth.

My pussy on his.

"I want you."


	33. Chapter 32

***32***

He looked nervous all of the sudden.

"Edward, I want you," I repeated. "So bad."

"Oh. Did you not just—"

"Yes," I interrupted him. "I did, babe, thank you. But fuck I need you inside me."

He gulped and blinked, several times, not answering.

As the seconds ticked by, my confidence in the situation deflated and I laid back down, moving my hands away from him.

I tried keeping a smile on my face, but I could feel it being a little forced. Still, I did just come so I wasn't going to wallow too much on it.

"Kiss?" I puckered my lips. He complied, plunging his tongue in my mouth. "Mmm," I moaned, sucking on it. "We taste good together."

We held each other silently, our mouths playfully attacking before it started getting uncomfortable.

"Yeah, so maybe I should—"

"Don't go!"

"No, no. I was just gonna ask for a shower and stuff."

"Oh." He ran a hand through his hair. "Sorry."

I grabbed his fingers and kissed the inside of his palm. "Don't be. I love that you want me here."

With a soft grin, he reached over to place a chaste kiss on my lips then got off the bed.

"Okay." He clapped once and rested his hands on his hips—not caring that he was as naked as the day he was born. I smiled at that. "Showers, coffee, then back to snuggling?"

"Sounds good."

I took a shower first, then slipped into another one of Edward's shirts.

While he handled his business in there, I made some coffee and cuddled back into his freshly made bed to give Tanya a quick call.

_"Jesus, fucking, Christ,"_ she answered, voice still thick with sleep. _"You better have a good reason for not coming home last night and scaring the shit out of me. And by good reason, I mean Edward better had fucked your brains out and you lost your damn sense."_

"Are you done?"

_"Yeah, sorry I needed to get that out. How are you?"_

"Good." I smiled, recanting parts of the night to her.

_"So did you fuck or not?"_

"No, but we did other stuff."

She squealed a little. _"Yes!"_

"How are you so happy about this?"

_"'Cause I was getting worried your hymen was gonna grow back."_

"You're an ass. Anyway. I just heard the shower turn off, I gotta go."

_"'Kay, love you."_

"You, too. But hey, how'd things go with 'Em?"

_"Good, actually. We talked, we're fine. I'll tell you all about it when you bring your ass home."_

"Alright, Alright."

_"Oh, and, B?"_

"Yeah?"

_"Call dad when you can. I might have worried them when I mentioned you didn't come home from your date."_

"Why would you call them and—" The line went silent. "Hello? Bitch."

"Everything okay?"

I looked up at Edward, smiling at him still in his towel, drops of water cascading down his arms.

"Yeah. My sister's just an idiot."

"Ah." He nodded. "Are you hungry?"

"I'm good for now." I lifted my coffee mug up to show him. "I have absolutely no idea how you take your coffee, but I pulled a mug out for you."

"Thanks." He threw on some sweat pants and a T-shirt before padding out of the room. I frowned. Did his shirt back on mean no more sexy times?


	34. Chapter 33

**Just a few more to go!**

* * *

***33***

"So, you got time for a movie or something before work?" Edward asked, full of hope.

I looked at the time and saw it was only a little after ten AM and I didn't have to work until five. "Yeah, enough for a couple actually."

He balled his fist a little and did that move where you stick your arm out and pull it back in triumph. All that was missing was him saying, 'Yes'.

He didn't realize I'd noticed, so I didn't say anything.

I rested my head against the pillow while he went out to the living room to pick our movies.

When he came back, he was whistling a little. My heart fluttered knowing I must have done something right and he seemed happy.

"Now, you're not allowed to fall asleep."

"Why's that?"

"Because." He made a big show of showing me the DVD cover.

I screamed, "The Princess Bride. Best. Movie. Ever."

"If you say so," he grumbled. But I called his bluff.

"If you don't think it's good, why do you have it?"

"I'll have you know, someone gave it to me as a gag gift."

"Surrrreee." I winked at him. "I believe you."

Halfway through the movie, as I recited it almost verbatim, it was clear Edward was watching me more than the screen.

"You're gonna miss some of the best parts," I said, turning to look at him. I almost flinched at the look he was giving me. Darkened eyes, hooded eyelids, lips parted as if he was struggling to catch his breath. "What?"

"You are just so cute."

I ducked my head down, suddenly feeling a little vulnerable at his words. "I guess … yeah, thanks."

"I mean you're beautiful, you know . . . you're a fox." Yes, I almost snorted at the 'foxy' thing again. "But, you . . . just the way you're so excited while watching this, it's sweet and fun to see. Kinda like, you know, when I win one of my games . . ." he trailed off and winced, but my smile returned.

"I'd love to see that one of these days." I have no idea what his 'game nights' entail, but he's told me it gets pretty intense and he gets very competitive.

"Maybe one day."

With an appeased smile, I turned my attention back to the TV, only for Edward to call for my attention once more.

"Bella," he whispered. "Would it be okay if I kissed you again?"


	35. Chapter 34

**As if she would say no! LOL**

* * *

***34***

It was a clash of lips and teeth, hands, and limbs as we moved with and against each other on the bed.

"Edward," I whimpered. "Fuck, I just—" Want you, need you, am about to explode if you don't give in and fuck me. Really, there were plenty of options to choose from. But I hypocritically went with the word I detested just the night before. "Please."

He moved away from me, hovering with one arm, as the fingers of the other traced up and down my leg. "What if I . . . I might not be good at it."

"I thought you said you weren't a virgin?" If it turned out he was, I was gonna have to suffer shutting things down in order to wait for a more 'special' time.

Groaning, he dropped his head to my shoulder. "I'm not, but it was one time. And it was quick, quicker than—"

"Shhh." I tugged on his hair so he would look at me. "It's done, in the past, over. I want you—no matter what happens. I just, I wanna feel you inside me."

He gulped and nodded. "I want you, too. You'll tell me, if …"

I narrowed my eyes at him to shut him up.

"Okay, okay," he breathed out, gesturing his thumb over his shoulder. "I'll be right back. I just need to get a—"

"Yeah, do what you gotta do."

When he got off the bed, I practically ripped the shirt off of me. Then I piled my hair on top of my head, wrapping it into a bun, only to pull it down and run my fingers through it. I was about to put it back in the bun style, _again,_ when Edward shuffled back into the room and sat on the edge of the bed.

I watched him as his shaky hands peeled his pants off and rolled on the condom, stroking his dick a few times.

"Fuck," I breathed out at the sight of him.

He whipped his head around to face me, and while looking at my exposed breast, stroked himself some more.

"Come here." I opened my arms to him. He crawled over to me, settling between my legs before dipping his head down to capture a nipple. My hands flew to his head. "Yes," I hissed when he swirled his tongue around. But then winced when he used a little too much teeth. "Not so hard, babe."

"Sorry," he mumbled around a mouth full of tit.

Giggling, I tried to reach down between us, but his weight had me pinned down pretty hard, so there was barely any room. I fidgeted with my legs, trying to get him to sit up, but the friction it caused as I rubbed my pussy against his thigh had me doing it again. And again. And again. And . . . "Ugh."

He took his cue well, leaning up a little and reaching his hands down to open my legs, all while pecking light kisses over my chest. His fingers softly flicked over my wet clit a few times. And I knew—when I felt his lips smiling against my skin—he was teasing. I growled out his name.

Finally, he brought his head back up, resting it next to mine before I felt the tip of him pushing against me.

* * *

**Houston the peen has landed, I repeat, the Peen has landed! :-)**


	36. Chapter 35

***35***

I gasped as he pushed again and continued pushing until we were hip to hip, skin to skin without an inch of space available.

He pulled out a little, then slid back in—this time the gasp escaping from his mouth. "Oh, my God."

"I know."

There were no other words for me to say, to describe the feeling of him.

Hard, warm, moving in and out of me.

His mouth found mine, our mouths found each other's—swallowing moans, pants, grunts, and whimpers.

"Shit, Edward—"

"Bella . . . this isn't, I'm not—"

"Fuck, I know, it's okay. Just . . ." I brought my legs to encircle his waist, holding onto him tightly, hoping with my loss of words I was conveying to him not to stop. Not to hold back. To just feel and let go.

My skin felt like it was on fire, on the brink of an implosion as his pace picked up.

Wild, awkward, perfect.

"Yes."

"I think I'm …"

I nodded. He was close. "Go ahead."

"You—you're—"

I grabbed a hold of his ass, bucking my hips in time with each of his thrusts. He pulled, I pushed.

My nails at his back, against his skin, made him wince.

"Come," I told him. "I want you to." I didn't need him to think I expected a marathon our first time, expected for him to try and wait it out to come together. I knew we'd have plenty more times to try that out.

Or at least I'd hoped.

"Holy, Jesus," he gritted out through his teeth, leaning his forehead to mine. "Bella, Jeez – it's just, so— right?"

"So right," I whimpered. "So fucking right, so fucking good."

"Oh, God. Oh, God." He squeezed his arms around my shoulders, his hips jerking uncontrollably as his mouth dropped to mine to swallow and muffle our pants and heavy breathing.

"Wow," Edward panted out, rolling onto his back. "Bella, that was . . . just wow."

My smile couldn't be contained, even though I didn't know what to say. Somehow, 'You're welcome' didn't really seem to fit, but the 'thanks' was implied.

We sat silently, listening to the movie still playing as Edward's breathing evened out. But then he sat up suddenly. "Wait."

"What? What's wrong?"

He looked at me in panic. "You—you didn't, did you?"

"Oh, hon." I sat up and scooted closer to him. "It doesn't happen for us every time. Plus," I winked "Your mouth earlier? Yeah. Heaven."

Slowly nodding, he heaved a breath and reached out to me. "Good."

And cuddling into his side, I fell asleep again with Buttercup and her crew's antics fading into the background.


	37. Chapter 36

***36***

**A/N: Blah … even with the fluff they still gotta talk. **

* * *

The smell of food wafting around me woke me up about an hour or so later. One eye opened to search out Edward. "Is that pizza?"

"Yeah," he answered from behind me.

I rolled over, slowly forcing the other eye open to focus on him. I noticed he was changed and his hair was wet, as if he'd taken another shower.

"You went out?"

He shook his head, chewing quickly before swallowing. "I ordered. And I wasn't sure what you liked, so I got a small cheese for you." He looked down and I could tell he was trying not to blush. "I know you said pizza's always a good choice."

In an attempt to hold in my grin, I started biting on my lips before whispering, "Cheese is good. Perfect."

Once I excused myself to the bathroom, cleaning up and brushing my teeth with an extra toothbrush I found, I got back into bed and scarfed down a couple slices

I didn't pay much attention to the movie that was currently playing. All I saw was fighting and machines and people dying while speaking in a weird code.

We were both delaying it, but I knew my time was dwindling and we'd soon have to pop the blissful bubble we'd created.

Still, we ate quietly, and when I was done, Edward took my plate for me and brought me back a can of soda.

"Thanks."

He nodded around his own can, then took a deep breath. "Bella, can I ask you a question? You don't have to answer me, of course."

"Yeah?"

"How many guys have you been with?"

"Four," I answered him quickly and honestly. Had it been anyone else, I would have easily told them numbers don't matter or that they need to mind their business. But with Edward, something like that would only serve to make him doubt him, me, or both of us.

"Oh."

My heart sank. "Is that a lot to you?" I didn't think it was that bad. "They were all my boyfriends," I started to ramble. "I had this boyfriend junior year, Tyler. He took my virginity actually. But we broke up senior year. And I had a new boyfriend for prom—his name was Marcus—and you know how prom is. Then I dated Jenks for like two years, before he cheated on me. So three, actually, you make number four. I'm not a whore or anything."

"Bella," Edward admonished me. "Please don't say those things or ever think I would think that about you." When I didn't answer, he dropped his head in his hands. "I really shouldn't have asked you that, huh?"

A strained snort left my mouth. "Yeah, in the future it's probably best _not_ to ask a girl that."

"I'm sorry … I just ... I guess I couldn't think of a way to just tell you this isn't like me. I swear I wouldn't just bring anyone here like this and . . . you know . . ."

"Yeah, well I don't just go around sleeping with random guys either, just so you know. I flirt . . . yeah. And a lot, but—"

"—I've upset you." He frowned, interrupting me.

"No, you didn't."

It was only partially true. While he didn't upset me, it didn't feel all that good to be questioned. Though given what had just gone down, I guess he had the right to wonder.

We took that moment to just talk and find out more about each other. We'd talked on the phone—at length—but there are always things you don't think you care to know. Until you have sex and suddenly even the nonsensical things become important.

After we'd gone quiet and exhausted every topic we could think of, Edward looked at me and murmured out a soft, "Thank you, Bella."

Tilting my head to the side, I raised my eyebrows to show my confusion. When his entire face crinkled and he didn't elaborate, I reached over to smooth out the creases on his forehead.

"What's wrong?"

"It's just . . . I know I put my foot in my mouth. A lot. And say the wrong things. A lot."

"No one says the right things all the time."

"That's true, I suppose, but I'm so—"

"—I still don't have a major," I cut him off a little harshly. I understood his insecurities, but what I needed him to understand was I wasn't going to go running for the hills just because he didn't word things the right way, or for any of the other reasons that had him worried. It was also important for me, that he realized he wasn't the only one with fear and anxiety. "You are obviously super smart and would rather hang out with your friends at home, while I drink myself silly and hate life in the morning. We all have our quirks, and no one's saying we're a perfect match. But I like you. Isn't that enough? You keep thinking or expecting me to judge you, or . . . something and I just wish you'd stop. I'm not like that, Edward."

"I know."

"Do you?"

He nodded. "You've proven it several times already."

"Then," I huffed, "please stop worrying."

"Okay."

"Promise."

"I promise I'll try."

Good enough. "Alright, well I have to leave soon. But first . . ." I leaned over, puckering my lips to his in a silent request for him to meet me halfway.

* * *

**2 more after this! **


	38. Chapter 37

***37***

With the time constraint of me needing to go, one would think there would be a sense of urgency to our kisses, but there wasn't.

Edward took his time, as did I, savoring every peck, every swipe of our tongues against each other's—every whimper.

Cradled between my legs, he started moving over me slowly and whispering how I've given him one of the best weekends of his life.

"I'd really like if you'd let me make up for earlier."

I didn't know what he'd meant until he started pushing his shirt I was wearing up over my hips and squeezing the top of my thighs. "Oh."

Not waiting to hear my answer, he sat back on his heels, pinching at my knees to spread my legs apart.

He pressed his fingers against my clit, rubbing tentative circles around it.

"Do you like it better when I use my mouth or my fingers?" His voice was genuinely sincere.

"Both." He started rubbing harder at my answer. "And at—at the same time."

I let out a loud moan when I felt the pressure of his tongue moving against me, along with his probing fingers. I opened my legs wide for him, as wide as they could go. My hands rested on my chest, palming against my breasts, my fingers pinching at my nipples, his name falling from my mouth over and over.

Just as I was there, about to come, letting him know I was close, at the edge, he removed his fingers and crawled back up to me.

"Do you still want me like you did before?"

I nodded, gasping as he quickly slid into me. My mouth stayed open trying to breath air into my lungs. Everything felt more heightened than earlier, my nerve endings tingling and tensing almost immediately.

"Tell me, Bella," he rasped in my ear, the feeling of his breath making me shiver. "Tell me what you like—what to do. To please you like this. To make you come like this."

Digging my fingers, my nails, into his skin, I tried to urge him to simply keep moving like he was. I didn't need to expand on my thought—he understood and kept rocking his hips over mine.

I lifted my legs higher on his hips, using my feet to push him harder, deeper. He was quickly losing it—I could tell—with his eyes scrunched closed and his thrusting become spastic.

"Edward ..."

He shook his head, obviously knowing what I was gonna command.

"No. I want, I need you to—"

"Okay." I started squeezing myself around him, rubbing my clit hard, fast, rough. The combination was exactly what I needed.

My ears started to ring.

I had no control of my breathing.

Parts of my body tensed, others taking on a life of their own, trembling uncontrollably while jolts of tingling energy shot through me.

As I silently shook, Edward's grunts increased—his movements becoming more forceful. Then, stilling, with a contorted face, he dropped his entire body weight on me.

I couldn't breathe.

Yet, I couldn't stop smiling.

* * *

**I wouldn't be able to stop smiling, either, after that! Just sayin' :-p**


	39. Chapter 38

***38***

We stayed in bed longer than we should have, so when the time came, we had to get ready quick and haul ass to my apartment.

When we got to my front door, we both shuffled our feet and fidgeted, not knowing what the hell to say.

"I had a great night." Edward blushed, then frowned. "But Bella, you should know I'm not lying when I tell you I've never done that before. You know sleep with a girl on the first date."

"Me neither. A guy or girl," I joked.

He chuckled, but it was forced. "Can I see you again?"

"Of course."

"No, I mean like all the time now. Like boyfriends and girlfriends do."

I smiled at him. "I'd really, really like that."

"Good." He beamed. "Good. I was nervous, you know, that maybe you'd look at me differently?"

"I feel the same, but you don't, right?"

"Nope."

"Good. So, I'll see you? If not tomorrow, sometime this week?"

"Absolutely."

"Okay."

"Okay."

I giggled at both of us stalling.

"Okay," I said again, tipping up to press my mouth to his. "Call me."

"I will."

And he did. That night, the next day, and every day after that.

We had our ups and downs, like everyone else, but Emmett and Tanya were right about one thing—in the end, Edward was the one.

And when it was time to finally declare a major, I approached professor Aro about Social Psychology.

He asked, just like everyone else did, what on earth would make me want to take that on as my field.

It was simple really, I told them, just like I did when I had to highlight what I learned during my project.

Though we all had our different opinions about what's acceptable, whether it be how relationships start, or how people act in public, always take a moment to stroll around and observe your surroundings. You'll never know when you're needed. When a simple gesture can change you or someone else's life.

Because, as I learned, a simple hug can go a long way.

_**Fin …**_

* * *

**Did ya get any cavities? Haha**

**Well, that's all she wrote folks! Just wanted to give ya a short, sweet, and quick one!**

**Thank you so, so much for joining me! As usual, you guys put crazy smiles on my face!**

**Big hugs, again, to my ladies who keep me off the ledge, Kimberly, Bridgette, Sheri. Special thanks to our DW Admins. Shoutout to my other Drabblers this month. And because I can't say it enough THANK YOU to each and every one of you who read, alerted, favorited, pimped etc.**

**Until Next time**

**~Lo**


End file.
